Half-Deer, Half-Buddha, Sento-kun is All Nara Publicity

In Japan, cartoon mascots come in all shapes, sizes and colors. And they’re used to promoting everything from ramen to safety precautions.

Courtesy of the Association for Commemorative Events of the 1300th Anniversary of Nara Heijo-kyo Capital

Sento-kun

Still, Sento-kun, the half-deer, half-Buddha character created by Nara to mark the 1,300th anniversary of the ancient western city becoming Japan’s capital in 710, stands out from the crowd.

With a baby face and a pair of antlers atop his head – a herd of deer, considered a divine animal in Nara, amble around the city center – Sento-kun wasn’t well-received when introduced in the run up to the 1,300th anniversary back in 2008. Critics claimed the character, named after the word ‘sento’, meaning transfer of the national capital, was disrespectful toward Buddha. Worse still, for some, he wasn’t even cute.

But now local authorities are claiming payback: According to estimates carried out by Nara Prefecture, Sento-kun’s many appearances in TV shows, magazines and newspapers in 2010, the year of the anniversary, have racked up the equivalent of 22.5 billion yen in free publicity for the city, helping promote tourism to a city often overlooked by visitors who fail to make it out of nearby Kyoto. That’s despite Nara boasting some of the finest ancient temples in Japan and being rated a Unesco World Heritage Site.

Sento-kun appeared 3,580 times in newspapers and magazines during an 11-month period through September, according to Nara Prefecture. That would be equal to 6.3 billion yen in costs in monetary value if comparable space was purchased in these media, Nara Prefecture says.

Meanwhile, TV stations devoted a total of 32 hours, 40 minutes and 10 seconds of airtime to Sento-kun just for April, May and August this year, a peak promotion period.Buying that airtime would have cost 16.2 billion yen, according to Nara Prefecture.

“I think he did a great job,” said a spokesman at the prefectural government.

Certainly, tourist numbers in Nara this year are well above forecasts. A total of 3.63 million tourists visited the restored palace of Heijokyo between April and November, about 45% higher than initial estimate. In other tourists spots such as temples and shrines in Nara Prefecture, 13.8 million tourists have already visited this year through October, exceeding a full-year forecast of 10 million visitors.

Indeed, Sento-kun has become so popular that Nara Prefecture is considering making him a longer-term PR mascot beyond the end of 2010.

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